Product Description

The theme of Klimapoker draws on Meyer's background in renewable energies and interest in environmental and climate protection. In addition to black chips and start player markers, the game includes 60 country cards, each of which has three icons on it to show the country's level of CO2 emissions, deaths per 100,000 inhabitants related to climate change, and loss of GNP; these values are ranked in four levels, with green being the best and red the worst.

Starting with a hand of a few country cards, each player will represent different countries at a climate conference. The start player on a turn plays a country card face-down and names the category to be compared. Each other player follows, and whoever plays the best-ranking country gets to keep one of the cards played by an opponent, with the rest of the cards being added to that player's discard pile. The start player can then lay down a conference of three or more country cards that have a similar ranking in one category; that player then discards the two worst ranking cards to her discard pile and scores the remaining card or cards, removing them from the game. (In terms of the theme, the countries come to an environmental agreement about what they need to do, then the two worst- ranking countries -- the ones likely to be hardest hit by the agreement -- back out and return to the bargaining table.) Players then refill their hands to match the number of chips in front of them.

Players can manipulate the number of chips in front of them by correctly guessing which country will win a trick. If a player does this, she can raise or lower her chip count by one. Have the fewest chips at the end of the game, and you'll receive a bonus; have more chips, on the other hand, and you'll have a larger hand and a greater chance of assembling conferences.

The game ends shortly after a player has only two cards left in her deck and hand. Anyone in this situation scores bonus points, then all players tally the countries in their scoring piles.